Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters was founded early in 1891. The impetus for the formation of the Society arose because some young portrait painters felt that their work was being excluded by the Royal Academy (of which they were not members) and so planned firstly an exhibition, then a Society of Portrait Painters. Members of the Society included Archibald John Stuart Wortley (the first President); James Jebusa Shannon; Percy Jacomb Hood; and Arthur Melville. The first exhibition was held in June 1891.
In 1911 the Society, by the permission of George V, gained the status of a Royal Society. Despite financial instability and problems finding venues for exhibitions the Society flourished and attracted critical and public attention; the annual exhibitions becoming an established part of the art calendar. The Society can boast a distinguished list of past and present members. In 1986 it became a Registered Company and in 1987 a charity.